4 prospects the Cardinals need to keep to help them compete in 2024

By now, everyone is aware that the 2023 season has been a dumpster fire for the St. Louis Cardinals. While they are no longer in last place in the NL Central thanks to the Pirates turning back into the Pirates and St. Louis playing well to start the second half, being 11 games below .500 and nine games out of a playoff spot has been brutal to watch for everyone.

However, there is still a lot of talent on this Cardinals roster especially on the offensive side of the ball, so the path to contention shouldn't necessarily be a long one. Assuming that the Cardinals hold firm and don't move guys like Paul Goldschmidt, Brendan Donovan, and Nolan Arenado, the Cardinals are just a few actual starting pitchers away from competing once again.

To take that step back towards contention, though, they are going to have to be careful which minor league prospects they choose to part with both at the trade deadline this year as well as during the offseason. There is certainly a case for the Cardinals acquiring a player (hopefully a starter) that is under team control for at least next season at the deadline, but they can't afford to move on from the wrong guys.

Here are 4 Cardinals prospects that they need to keep to help them in 2024

Just for the sake of clarity, this is not an argument for the Cardinals not to sell at the trade deadline. They absolutely should not worry anymore about the 2023 season as it is a lost cause. However, this is just a recognition of the fact that the Cardinals COULD make moves that are focused on competing in 2024 and beyond at the deadline and they definitely should do that this coming offseason. In those circumstances, these are the guys that they need to keep around unless the return is too big to ignore. Every prospect has a price.

Lets take a look at the prospects that the Cardinals need to hang on to to help them in 2024.

Masyn Winn

The consensus top ranked prospect in the Cardinals' farm system right now is without question Masyn Winn. The slick fielding shortstop with a cannon for an arm has continued to make strides at the plate the last couple of years. While he will never be a masher, his hit tool and patience at the plate has improved enough that he should be a solid offensive contributor with big upside on defense at a premium position.

With guys like Paul DeJong and to a lesser extent Tommy Edman potentially available at the trade deadline, having Winn around to man the left side of the infield is a tremendous luxury and allows the Cardinals to be agile when it comes to making moves to fill other holes on the roster.

Now if the opportunity presents itself to get a premium player with some team control, Winn could be on the table. However, those options appear to be few and far between at the deadline this year. As for the offseason, such a move could be more likely and the front office could plan accordingly. However, the most probable course is that Winn is St. Louis' shortstop of the future and he should be treated as such.

Tink Hence

With the Cardinals' pitching woes at the forefront of everyone's minds at the moment, it is hardly a surprise that their top pitching prospect, Tink Hence, should be all but off limits if they want to compete in 2024. Hence possesses a plus fastball and plus slider that could make him a frontline starter in the big leagues.

Most importantly, Hence is already at Double-A and has pitched extremely well this season with a 2.54 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 56.2 innings of work. While he only recently got promoted to Double-A, he is very clearly on the fast track to the big leagues for the Cardinals. Assuming that continues to hold, Hence should provide the Cardinals' rotation a boost sometime next year.

Tink is still a pitching prospect, though, and they carry a much higher risk so he shouldn't be untouchable. However, he should only be considered as a trade piece in a high end trade that will make a big impact on the 2024 roster.